Do you think leadership by 'ulama' (religious scholars) will be a permanent feature in PAS leadership while other well-established Islamic movements such as Ikhwanul Muslimun, Hamas and those in Turkey have long considered it not a necessity?

Suhaimi

Nasharuddin: PAS is a democratic party guided by Islamic principles. The constitution of the party does not restrict the party's leadership to the 'ulama' or scholars only. Whilst the 'ulama' has brought success to the party in the case of Kelantan and Terengganu, many members of the party's higher echelon are professionals and academics. We also enjoy continued success in attracting professionals to the party, and currently 60 percent of our membership applicants are professionals.